title: Early maternal separation, nightmares, and bad dreams: results from the Hungarostudy Epidemiological Panel.
abstract: Early maternal separation is a particularly stressful experience. Current models of nightmare production emphasize negative emotionality as having a central role in determining dream affect. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that persons who experienced early maternal separation (before one year of age and lasting at least one month) report more frequent nightmare experiences and bad dreams as adults. In the frame of the Hungarostudy Epidemiological Panel, 5020 subjects were interviewed. Significant associations were found between early maternal separation and both frequent nightmare experience in adulthood and increased frequency of oppressive and bad dreams. Current depression scores fully mediated the association between early separation and nightmares, but not the association between early separation and negative dream affect. We interpret these findings as a trait-like enhancement of negative emotionality in adults who experienced early maternal separation. This enhancement influences the content of dreams and, when it takes the form of depression, also influences the frequency of nightmares.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary. csokszil@net.sote.hu
authors.forename: Szilvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Csóka
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simor
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.forename: Mária S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bódizs
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D004325:Dreams / Q000523:psychology*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D020184:Night Terrors / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult